Circular knitting machine



July 14, 1942. w. E. BOOTON CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 19,1941 l] Sheets-Sheet l July 14, 1942. w. E. BOOTON CIRCULAR KNITTINGMACHINE Filed March 19, 1941 1] Sheets-Sheet 2 July 14, 1942. w, BOOTON2,290,147

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Marc 2h 19, 1941 11 Sheets-Sha e; 7

July 14, 1942. w. E. BOOTON I CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 19,1941 1] Sheets-Sheet 8 AfmQ/vEY y 4, 1942. w. E. BQOTON 2,290,147

c'mcumn KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 19, 1941 l] Sheets-Sheet l1Patented July 14, 1942 CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE William Edward Booton,Leicester, England, assignor to W. E. Booton Limited, Leicester, EnglandApplication March 19, 1941, Serial No. 384,176 In Great Britain February16, 1940 20 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to circular knittingmachines for knitting i articles of footwear in the nature of hose,threequarter hose and half-hose and the articles of footwear(hereinafter termed "hose for the sake of brevity) having heel pocketsand toe pockets; An object of the invention is to provide means Iwhereby there may be produced a hose wherein the line of linking at thetoe pocket is on the underside of thefoot instead of on the upper sideas is more usual, and the invention is particularly but not exclusivelyconcerned with ladies stockings of natural or artificial silk or amixture thereof. With the aforesaid object in view the inventionprovides a circular knitting machine organised for the production ofhose mainly by rotary knitting, having two opposed knitting systemscharacterised by the combinatlon of means for knitting a heel pocket byreciprocation on one group of needles in one of said systems, and meansfor knitting the toe pocket by reciprocation on an opposed group of theneedles in the other system. Thus not onlyis it possible to produce thetoe pocket on the instep needles so that the linking line is at theunderside, without it being necessary to displace the needle bed throughhalf a revolution between the knitting of the heel pocket and theknitting of the toe pocket, but production is speeded up, since twocourses are produced at each revolution, and the advantages of the knownprinciple of weft mixing are obtained.

The foregoing and other features of the invention set out in theappended claims are incorporated in the examples now to be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of a finished stocking manufactured on a machineaccording to this invention, and

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the stocking blank as it comes fromthe knitting machine,

Figs. .3 and 3A together show a development of the cams in a circularknitting machine according to this invention, illustrating the operaetand heel pocket respectively, and at the top of Fig. 5 the arrangementof needle butts is again shown for the sake of convenience.

Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating one of the widening pickers,while Figure 8 is a perspective view illustrating one of the narrowingpickers.

Figure 9 shows a battery of pickers employed in splicing and fashioning,

Figure 10 is a perspective view of abattery of pickers employed formock-fashioning, while Figure 11 is a perspective view, looking fromunderneath, of a portion of said last mentioned battery.

Figures 12 and 13 are plan views looking on the top of the machine, eachshowing approximately one half of the circumference and illustion ofcertain pickers and showing a needle, a

jack, and certain butts thereon.

Figure 4 hows the lower part of the stocking blank laid out fiat andconsiderably fore-shortened, and also shows a jack and illustrates thearrangement of the butts on the needles and on the jacks.

Figures 5, 5A, 6 and 6A show the knitting cams, and the arrangement ofthe knitting butts on heel pouch h, is knitted by rotation and duringthis rotational knitting except at the upper part of the stockingcertain fashioning needles are held inactive so that ateach revolutionfloat threads 1 are laid across the gap left by the' inactive needles.The stocking is knitted from the toe upwards and at the commencementroving courses a and a slack course b are knitted by rotation. Themachine then goes into reciprocation and makes the toe pouch t bynarrowing and widening (the suture lines being indicated at ts) on acertain group of needles. On the com pletion of the toe pouch rotational(spiral) knitting is resumed and a ring toe c is produced followed bythe instep d and foot bottom. The marginal parts of the foot bottom, ateach side of the gap spanned by the floating threads I,

are spliced as at e, the shape of the splicing being clearly shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 4. That is to say the spliced areas e are narrowedupwards from the toe t and are subsequently widened upwards to the heeland above the heel are again reduced. In order to produce the heel, themachine is reciprocated and a heel pouch h is produced in two portionsby narrowing and widening upon two groups of heeling needles separatedby the gap, the suture lines being indicated at hs. These heelingneedles are opposite the inthe needles, preparatory to knitting the toepockstep needles, and the heel pouch is a small one,

being produced on less needles than is the toe pouch. At the completionof the heel pouch the machine again goes into rotation and the leg isproduced, still with the floating threads f, splicing being terminatedat the appropriate stage. Higher up the leg, fashioning is effected at gby introducing needles in activity at each side of the gap to decreasethe latter and to widen the blank, and this fashioning is accompanied bythe production of lines of mock fashion marks i (preferably formed bytuck stitches) which lines extend parallel with the fashioned edges 9and therefore in the finished stocking are parallel with the leg seamhereinafter mentioned. After a further portion of knitting on a constantnumber of needles, the remaining fashioning needles are introduced tofashion the leg at? and to close the gap. This fashioning is accompaniedagain by lines of mock fashion marks k, parallel to the fashion edges,to simulate the thigh fashioning in a fully fashioned hose. At thisstage the complete circle of needles is active and thereafter thestocking blank is completed in uninterrupted tubular form. At least onereinforced course is produced at I, followed by a picot edge m and weltn. A string of blanks having been completed they are separated and ineach blank the floating threads are cut away, and that length of theslack course b which is produced on the toe pouch needles is linked tothose portions of said course which are included in the foot bottom sothat the resultant toe linking line extends across the foot bottom andnot across the top of the toe as is customary. Next the edges of theblank are seamed together by a seam s Fig. 1 which therefore extendsupwards from the toe linking line b' Fig. 1, along the foot bottom,around the heel h, and up the leg. Preferably the seam s is continued asa mock seam upwards through the truly-tubular part of the stocking whichlies above the termination of the fashioning i.

This fashioned blank is produced on a circular knitting machine theneedle cylinder I of which is provided with a full complement of needlesI I, which machine has two diametrically opposed knitting systemsindicated at l and 2 in Figs. 3

and 3A. In each system there are knitting cams of a conventional kindknown in seamless hose machines and a battery of interchangeable yarnfeeders, and those cams and their parts which are duplicated in each ofthe two systems have the same reference numbers and letters, those insystem 2 being differentiated from those in system I by a dash. Thus insystem I there are stitch cams 20 and I20, guide cam 2I, up-pickers 22,I22, down pickers 23, I23 and feeders bracketed together at F. Thecorresponding parts in system 2 will be recognized, as for examplestitch cams at 20', I20 and feeders F. The needles II have butts I2 ofcontrasting lengths and the cams provide an active track I3 and a lowerinactive track I4 for certain of said butts, there being a gap I5leading from the inactive track I4 to the active track I3 followingsystem 2 and a gap I5a leading in the reverse direction following systemI. The arrangement of the needle butts I2 is best shown in Fig. 4. Thereis a central group of long butt needles LB which produce the toe pouchand are termed instep needles. This group is flanked at each side by agroup of splicing needles SN. These splicing needles have butts of twocontrasting lengths; a few needles near the group LB have medium buttsMB while the remainder have short butts SB. The needles SB are heelingneedles, and the intermediate groups MB are provided so that a smallheel may be produced. The remaining needles have extra short butts SBX;these needles are fashioning needles and therefore in Fig. 4 half ofthem are shown at one edge of the blank and the other half at the otheredge thereof. Beneath each needle and working in the same trick there isa jack 33; these jacks have butts at seven different levels 3440 groupedas shown. Each Jack has a butt at the level 40, and these butts 40 areof contrasting lengths according to the functionsof the associatedneedles. The instep jacks IJ below the needles LB have short butts; thesplicing jacks SJ below the splicing needles SN have medium butts; andthe fashioning jacks FJ below the fashioning needles SBX have longbutts. The left-hand or leading group of splicing jacks FJ has butts atlevel 34, and two of the adjacent jacks IJ have butts 34' at that levelalso. The right-hand or trailing group of splicing jacks SJ has butts atlevel 35. The trailing group of fashioning jacks FJ has butts at level36 and also at level 31 while in addition a few of the adjacent jacks SJhave butts 31' at the leading end of the group of butts 31. The leadinggroup of fashioning jacks FJ has butts at level 38 while a few of theadjacent jacks SJ have butts 38 located at the trailing end of saidgroup 38. Spaced jacks are without butts at level 39, so as tofacilitate the formation of the picot edge m.

Cams (Figs. 3 and 3A) are provided for operating on the jack butts 40and defining an upper active track I6 and a lower inactive track I'I.Below gap I5 a gap I8 leads from track I! to track I6, while in system Ia gap I9 leads in the reverse direction.

At the termination of one stocking blank all the needles are knitting inthe active track I3 and it is necessary, prior to the commencement ofthe next blank, to press off the fashioning needles SBX. To do so beltcams 24, 25 and 26 are partially inserted immediately following knittingsystem I. The butts of all needles other than the fashioning needles SBXare raised by cam 24 to clear and are then lowered by cam 21 locatedjust in advance of system 2. The short butt needles SBX miss cam 24 butare lowered by cam 26 to pass down gap I5a to inactive track I4. Theseneedles are therefore pressed off. At the same time a bolt cam 28 isinserted to engage the jack butts 40 and to lower all said butts fromthe active track I6 to the inactive track I! through the gap I9.

The roving courses a are knitted, by rotation, upon needles SN and LB,each of said needles knitting in both systems in each revolution of thecylinder and floats being laid across the gap left by fashioning needlesSBX. Next at least one slack course is produced by raising the needlecylinder I0 in a manner known in the art. Thereafter it is necessary tohold the heeling needles SB and needles MB inactive while the toe pocketis produced by reciprocation. The butts of these needles SN aretherefore raised to an upper inactive level 'I4a, Fig. 3. Cams 24, 25,26 and 28 have already been withdrawn. Another bolt cam 29. and thestitch cam 20, are ret iacted as are also certaif'; jack cams shown atand 30. Stitch cams I20 and 2| are so adjusted that the former raisesthe needles SN and LB while the latter lowers the needles LB. Thereforethe needles SN continue round over ting cams in knitting system I areentirely'inoperative and the machine goes into reciprocation to knit atsystem 2 only, whereat the narrowing up pickers 22' and I22 are renderedoperative so that in a swing from right to left, Fig. 5, the leadingneedle of group' LB is elevated to track Ma by picker I22 and in a swingfrom left to right the leading needle at the other end of the group LBis likewise elevated by picker 22'. This narrowing at the two ends ofgroup LB continues for the desired period. The narrowing pickers 22' andI22 are then rendered inoperative and the widening down pickers. 23 andI23 associated with knitting system I are introduced and controlled. Ineach swing from right to left the picker 23 lowers the first butt thatreaches it in the right-hand group of raised butts and in a swing fromleft to right the picker I23 lowers the first butt that reaches it in thleft-hand group of raised butts. This down picking continues until allthe instep needles LB are again knitting, the toe suture lines ts havingthus been produced. Thereupon the machine changes to rotation and cam 32is introduced to lower all the needle butts occupying track Ida to theactive track I3. Stitch cams 20 and I2!) are also introduced. Thiscompletes the formation of the toe pocket.

It is convenient here to explain that since in Fig. 4 thefore-shortening blank is shown as being laid out flat the toe suturelines ts are shown as diverging until they meet spaced transverse linests which indicate the course of loops held on the raised needles SN.This disposition of lines ts and ts is in fact imaginary and the areasbounded by said lines are non-existent in the knitted blank. In otherwords a pair of lines ts shown as divergent in Fig. 4 are coincident anda pair of lines ts shown as spaced apart length wise of the blank arealso coincident, and to indicate this union or coincidence of said linesthe aforesaid areas are shaded in Fig. 4. Th same applies to the areabounded by the lines hs and he referred to subsequently in theproduction of the heel.

During the production of the toe pouch 1. all the jacks have beenidling. The jack cams ll and 42 Fig. 3 are now introduced. Cam dl lowersthe long butt jacks FJ while the short butt jacks IJ pass both camswithout being engaged thereby. The medium butt jacks SJ miss cam dI butare elevated by cam 42 and by the subsequent cam 43 so that they passinto the active jack race I6. This prepares the jacks for subsequentsplicing operations, and said cams M, 42 are retracted.

Before splicing commences, however, a few courses of circular (spiral)knitting are produced upon'needles SN and LB which knit in both systemsto form a ring toe. It will be understood that in this circular knittingfloating threads f are produced across the gap left by the inactivefashioning needles SBX.

At the termination of the ring toe the needle clearing cams 24 and 29are introduced so that all the'active needles clear thereat. The lackcams 30 and 30' are also introduced and stitch cams I20 and I 20' areretracted. As a result the needles SN associated with the jacks SJ areelevated by cams 30, 30' to take the ground threads and the splicingthreads fed by splicing feeders S, S, now introduced, while the needlesLB (the jacks IJ of which are inoperative) pass cams I20 and I20 and somiss the splicing threads but take the ground thread only (said threadsbeing fed in different paths), and knit at stitch cams 20 and 20.

It will be observed that the spliced areas 2 are immediately narrowed.In this narrowing use is made of the jack butts at levers 34 and 35.Considering first the butts 34 on the leading or left hand groupsplicing jacks SJ it will be appreciated that the narrowing takes placeprogressively from the trailing end thereof. Since the jacks SJ arepursuing track I6 and the jacks IJ are pursuing track II, the controlbutts 34 on jacks IJ are lower than the butts 34, as shown in Fig. 3.The first control butt 34 strikes a picker arm 34a and swings itsideways. This picker arm 34a is connected to a picker arm 34b locatedabove it and the latter is caused to swing sideways and downwards. Inthismovement it lowers the last jack of the leading group SJ so that thebutt 40 of said jack passes down the gap I9 to the inactive gap IT. Thesaid jack is therefore not elevated by the splicing cams 30' and 30 andthe associated needle thereafter misses the splicing threads. As said'jack is lowered, its butt 34 is placed in front of butts 34', tooperate arm 34a at the next revolution, and these operations continue, alowered sub group of butts 34 and 34', and a raised sub group of butts34, being formed. When the desired reduction has been effected, pickermechanism 34a and 34b is placed out of operation. It is subsequentlynecessary to re-introduce certain of said lowered splicing jacks so thatthe left-hand spliced area is again widened towards the heel. This iseffected by a single up pi'cker 340 located in advance of system I andwhich, at each revolution, picks up the first butt of the loweredsubgroup of jacks SJ of the left hand group thereof and causes the butt40 of said jack to pass up gap I8 to the active track I6 whereby theassociated needle is caused to splice.

Considering now the right-hand or trailing of the jack group SJ reachingit in a revolution and picks said butt downwards so that the jack butt40 is passed down gap I9 and the associated needle thereafter misses thesplicing threads. These operations continue, so that the group of butts35 isdivided into a leading low sub-group followed by a raisedsub-group. The picker 350 is rendered inoperative at the appropriatetime, and a parallel length of splicing is then produced until it isdesired to widen theright-hand spliced area e.

This widening must take place from the trailing end-of the loweredsplicing jacks FJ. Use is again made of the butts 35 which by operationof picker 350 have been sub-divided into a low leading sub-group and araised trailing sub-group. Picker mechanism 35a, 35b is renderedoperative. The first butt of said raised sub-group strikes arm of 35aand swings it sideways. Said arm is connected to picker arm 35b which iscaused to swing upwards and sideways. In this movement arm 35b elevatesthe last butt 35 of said lowered leading sub-group. The butt 40 on thejack thus raised passes up gap I8 to the active track I6 and theassociated needle is caused to splice, the butt 35 of said jack beingremoved from the trailing end of the low sub-group and added at thefront end of the raised sub-group. When the desired width of thetrailing spliced area e has been reached mechanism 35a and 35b isrendered inoperative.

Again short parallel areas of splicing are produced until it isnecessary to make the heel pouch. Bolt cams 24, 29, 20', I20, 30 and 30'are retracted and stitch cam I20 of system I is introduced together withneedle raising cam 44 (the heel pouch therefore being knitted in systemI). This cam 44 engages the butts of needles MB and LB and raises themto the loop retaining level I4a which stage is shown in Fig. 6. Saidneedles MB and LB therefore hold their loops (line hs' Fig. 4). Themachine goes into reciprocation and the up pickers 22 and I22 associatedwith system I are rendered operative. In a swing from right to left theup picker I22 raises the first butt of the trailing group of needles SBto the loop retaining level Ila. In a swing from left to right up picker22 raises the first butt reaching it of the left-hand group of needlesSB. Thus narrowing continues for the desired extent and pickers 22 andI22 are rendered inoperative and the down pickers 23' and I23 associatedwith system 2 are rendered operative to pick down from level Na in amanner similar to that in which pickers 23 and I23 functioned for thetoe. Thus the heel suture lines he are formed. The needle cams 24, 29and 20' and jack cams 30 and 30 are re-introduced; needle cam 32 isintroduced and stitch cam I 20 is withdrawn and the machine goes intorotation. Cam 32 lowers all the butts from loop retaining level Ida sothat these needles again knit. Thereafter two courses of spiral knittingare produced at each revolution, certain of the needles SB taking thesplicing thread. At the desired time picker mechanism 36a, 34b, andpicker 340 are rendered operative to narrow the spliced areas to thedesired extent. This stage having been reached said pickers are renderedinoperative, the splicing feeders S", S are withdrawn and jack cams Iand 42 are introduced. Cam H temporarily lowers the ashioning iacks FJwhile cam 82 raises the butts d of jacks SJ (which butts miss cam II) sothat e jacks SJ continue to clear at earns 30, 3I'. The lon butt needlesLB clear at clearing cams 2d and 29 which are only partially inserted.

Thereafter a parallel lower portion of the leg is knitted, two coursesat each revolution, until it is desired to fashion the leg at g byintroducing needles into activity at each side of the gap. Consideringfirst the trailing group of fashioning needles SBX it will beappreciated that this introduction must take place progressively fromthe leading end of said group. Therefore use is made of the group ofbutts on trailing jacks FJ at level 31. It will be understood that,since the jacks FJ pursue the inactive track I1 and the adjacent jacksSJ pursue the active track I6, the butts 31' on the said jacks SJ willbe level with the butts 36 on jacks FJ. A single picker 31a is renderedoperative which at each revolution picks up the first jack butt 31reaching it so that the jack is introduced to the active track throughgap I8 and the associated needle is introduced to the active track I3through gap I5. This elevation of the first of the trailing group ofjacks FJ raises jack butt 36 thereon and brings butt 3'! thereon intoline with butts 31' and the butts 36 on the remaining inoperative jacksof trailing group FJ. This picking continues for the desired extent,picker 310. being then rendered inoperative.

It is also necessary to produce the line of mock fashion marks i at theright-hand edge of the blank. In mock fashioning at the right-hand edgeof the blank use is made of the butts 36 associated with the needles SBXand the butts 31 associated with the needles SB together withmock-fashioning picker mechanism 36a, 36b which is located betweenknitting systems 2 and I. It will be appreciated from a consideration ofthe cam tracks provided for the jack butts 40 that on arriving at theregion of the said picker mechanism (Fig. 3) the butts 31', beingassociated with active needles SB, and also the butts 36 which areassociated with such fashioning jacks as may at that time have beenintroduced into activity, pursue a higher path than do the butts 36 onthe inactive fashioning jacks. In other words there are two sub-groupsof butts:-- a raised leading sub-group comprising butts 31 and suchbutts 36 as may have been added thereto by fashioning, and a loweredtrailing subgroup consisting of butts 36 of the inoperative fashioningjacks. At each revolution the first of these butts 36 of the lowersub-group strikes the arm 36a and swings it sideways. The said arm isconnected to arm 36b which is swung sideways and downwards to lower atleast one butt of the raised sub-group, saidbutt being spaced anappropriate distance in advance of the first butt of the lowersub-group. Therefore the butt 40 on the associated jack is passedunderneath cam 30 and the associated needle tucks. It will be understoodthat owing to the operation of the fashioning picker 31 the number ofbutts 36 in the lower sub-group is gradually decreased and the number ofbutts in the upper sub-group is gradually increased reciprocally, andtherefore the mock fashion line i is parallel with the fashioned edge 9.

Since there are two knitting systems and the diversion of a selectedneedle in mock fashioning is only temporary the mock fashioningmechanism is duplicated at 36a and 36b in advance of knitting system 2.

To consider now the fashioning operations at the left-hand edge of theblank, it will be obvious that the butts 38', being on active jacks SJ,pursue a higher track than do the butts 38 at the commencement offashioning, since none of the fashioning jacks of leading group FJ haveso far been raised into activity. It will likewise be appreciated thatthe introduction of fashioning needles and jacks into activity must takeplace progressively from the trailing end of needle group SBX and jackgroup FJ. In each revolution the first butt 38 (or the first butt at thesame level as said butts 38') strikes arm 38a and swings it sideways.The said arm is connected to picker arm 38b which is caused to swingupwards and sideways to elevate the last one of the lowered butts 38 sothat the associated jack is introduced into activity through gap I8 andassociated needle into activity through gap I5. This movement causes thepicked butt 38 to take its place in advance of butts 38' so as to strikethe arm 38a in the next revolution and to cause shown in Fig. 9.

arm 38b to pick the next butt 38 of the low group. Thereforepickingtakes place progressively forwards from the trailing end of theleading group of fashioning needles SBX. The mock fashioning for theleft hand edge of the blank is effected in advance of system I by pickermechanism 38a and 38b. The first butt 38' strikes the arm 38a and swingsit sideways. Said arm is connected to arm 38b which is caused to swingsideways and downwards to lowena subsequent one of said butts 38'. Theassociated Jack is therefore passed beneath cam 30 and the associatedneedle tucks. It will be understood that at each operation of pickermechanism 38a, 38b

one of butts 38 is added in front of butts 38' and therefore gthe nextrevolution the newly added butt serves to drive the arm 38a and thereeventually comes a stage in which so many butts have been added that arm38b picks among said added butts.

Like mock-fashioning operations are performed in advance of system 2 bysimilar mock fashioning mechanism 38'a, 3B'b'.

After the desired number of needles have been introduced for thefashioning at g, the fashioning and mock-fashioning picker mechanismjust described are temporarily put out of operation and a portion of theleg knitted on a constant number of needles. Subsequently, in order toproduce the fashioning 7' and mock-fashioning k the said mechanisms areagain rendered operative until all the fashioning needles SBX have beenraised to the operative track and all the jacks, except jacks IJ, pursuetrack I6. The entire circle of needles is now knitting so that un- 3interruptedly tubular fabric is produced, two courses at eachrevolution.

At the appropriate stage in this tubular knitting a yarn change is madeto produce the reinforcement l and subsequently the picot edge m isproduced. For this picot edge cam 42 is introduced momentarily to raisethe jacks IJ to the active track and needle cams 24, 29, 20 and I20 andI20 and also jack cam are withdrawn for four courses, it being thereforeappreciated thatduring these four courses only stitch cam 20 isoperative and that such needles as clear do so at cam 30. Picot cam 45is moved inwards to engage the spaced jack butts at level 39 and it mayhere be mentioned that the group of short butts at level 39, shown inFig. 4, is provided to permit of the insertion of said cam 45. Thefunction of cam 45 is to lower the jacks v provided with butts 39 sothat their butts 40 pass beneath cam 30 and the associated needle tuck.The cams just referred to are now withdrawn. The welt n is produced andsubsequently all nee- .dles other than needles SN, LB are pressed off inthe manner already descri The battery of pickers beneath system 2 is 50carrying a vertical spindle 5| about which picker blocks 52a, 52b, 52cand 52d are pivoted. The block 520. has picker arm 34c pivoted to it formovement about a horizontal axis 53a, and for said arm there is a guideplate 541: and a return spring 55a. The block 52b, provided with returnspring 55b, carries the arm a and alsohas pivoted to it, for movementabout a horizontal axis 532), the up picker 35b. For said picker 35b aguide plate 54b is provided. The block 52c has picker arm 31a pivoted toit for movement about a horizontal axis 530, and said arm is providedwith guide plate 540 and return spring 55c. The block 52d, provided withretiu'n This battery consists of a body axis 5311, said arm beingprovided with guide.

plate 54d. The various'pickers may be moved to and from operativepositions by arms projecting radially from their blocks. Thus block 520.carries control arm 58a; block 52b, arm 5w; block 520, arm 56c; andblock 52d, arm 56d.

The various picker mechanisms shown in Fig. 4, are controlled from aracking pin drum (Fig. 14) surrounding the base of the needle cylinderI0. Picker 34c and mechanism 35a, 35b, are swung to and from operativeposition by a rock lever 8| engaging pins 56a, 56b, and connected to afeeler for the pin drum 80. Picker 31a and mechanism 38a, 38b arecontrolled by rock lever 88 engaging pins 56c, 56d, andconnected tofeeler 90.

Thepicker mechanisms 34a, 34b and 350 arranged beneath knitting system Iare substantially similar respectively to the mechanisms 35a, 35b and340, and therefore need no further illustration than is provided byFigs. 9 and 14, but it may be pointed out that whereas picker 340 is anup picker and is located above mechanism 35a, 35b, the splicingnarrowing picker 35c is a down picker and is located beneath mechanism34a, 34b. For mechanism 34a, 341) there is a control pin 56'b and forpicker 35c a control pin 55'a. The rock lever is indicated at 8| and thefeeler at 85.

The battery of mock-fashioning pickers 36a,

36b, 38a, 38b located in advance of knitting system I is shown in Figs.10 and 11. There is a body 51 carrying two parallel vertical spindles 58and 59. Arm 36a projects from a block 50a rotatably mounted on spindle58. Said block is connected, to a block 60b rotatably mounted on spindle59, by means of connection 6|. The picker arm 36b is mounted on block60b for movement about horizontal axis 62a and is provided with a guideplate 63a and a return spring 64a; said block 601) likewise has acontrol arm 65a. Arm 38a is attached to block 660. rotatably mounted onspindle 59 and connected by a connection 6Ib to block 56b rotatablymounted on spindle 58. Block 66b has picker arm 38b pivoted to it formovement about a horizontal axis 521) and is provided with a returnspring 64b. Block 66a has a control arm 65b. Pins 65a, 65b are engagedby rock lever 92 connected to feeler 94.

The mock-fashioning picker mechanism 36a, 36b and 38'0, 38'b' in advanceof knitting system 2 is similar to that just described and illustratedand needs no further description herein. It is indicated generally at51' in Fig. 14.

In general the connections whereby the various cams and other mechanismshereinbefore referred to are controlled from a suitable control membersuch as the main drum of the machine or a chain or drum 80, may followstandard practice in knitting machines and little description andillustration thereof is necessary herein, for once the functions of suchparts have been described numerous simple controls for them will presentthemselves to a knitting machine builder without the necessity forinvention. Figs. 12 and 13 show the lay-out of the knitting cams andneedle pickers. Each said figure is a plan view dealing withapproximately half the circumference of the machine. Fig. 12 relates toknitting system I, and Fig. 13 to system 2, and in the two figures partswhich are duplicated for the two systems (or are mechanical equivalents)are given the same reference numbers, but those in Fig. 13 for system 2are differentiated by a dash. Dealing first with system I the yarn,feeders F are controlled in customary manner by a battery of push rods10. Stitch cam I20 is controlled through bell-crank-lever IIll. Guardcam 2| is controlled by bell-crank-lever mechanism II. Stitch cam 20 iscontrolled through bell-crank-lever I0. Narrowing picker 22 iscontrolled through bell-crank-lever I2 and horizontal shaft I3. PickerI22 is similarly controlled by bell-crank-lever I'I2. Widening picker23is controlled by arm I4, bell-crank-lever 15 and connections I6,widening picker I23 being controlled by like connections I14, I15. Theforegoing parts are to be found duplicated and distinguished by areference numeral with a dash in Fig. 13. Fig. 7 shows in detail thecontrol for the widening picker 23, and therefore this picker alsoserves to illustrate the control of the similar pickers 23, I23 and I23.Said picker 23' is pivoted on a horizontal spindle I1 transfixing avertical spindle 18' from which the arm I4 projects for engagement bybell-cranklever I5. The picker is provided with a guide plate I9 and itwill therefore be appreciated that by rocking spindle I8 the picker 23'may be swung and lowered to an inoperative position. Fig. 8 illustratesthe control of the narrowing picker 22' and therefore serves to illustrate the control of the similar pickers 22, I22 and I22. Said picker ispivoted by a horizontal spindle 8| in a block 82' which is itselfpivoted on a vertical spindle 83'. The picker is provided with a guideplate 84' and it will therefore be appreciated that by depressing theouter end of the picker by means of bell-crank-lever I2 said picker maybe raised to an inoperative position.

Referring once again to Fig. 12, bolt cam 29 is controlled by means oflever 86 and bellcrank-lever 81. Cam 3| is controlled by lever mechanism89. Cam 24 is controlled by means of lever 9| and cam 25 by lever 93.

Referring to Fig. 13 cam 26 is controlled by lever 61, while cam 32 iscontrolled by bellcrank-lever B8. Cam 44 is controlled by lever 69.

I claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine of the type organised to knit a hosemainly by rotation but to knit the heel and toe pockets byreciprocation, the combination of one knitting system for knitting thetoe pocket on a group of needles and an opposed knitting system forknitting the heel pocket on an opposed group of needles.

2. In a circular knitting machine of the type organised to knit a hosemainly by rotation but to knit the heel*and toe pockets byreciprocation, the combination of two opposed knitting systems forknitting two courses at each revolution, and means for knitting the toepocket by reciprocation in one system and for knitting the heel pocketby reciprocation in the other, employing different needles for the twopockets.

3. In a circular knitting machine of the type organised to knit a hosemainly by rotation but to knit the heel and toe pockets byreciprocation, and having a circular needle bed, the combination of oneknitting system for knitting the toe pouch and an opposed system forknitting the heel pouch, instep needles and heeling needlesdifferentiated by contrasting butts and occupying different locations inthe needle circle, cams for engaging said butts and for displacing theheeling needles to and from a loop-holding level preparatory to andsubsequent to knitting the toe pouch, pickers for operating on theinstep needles to narrow and widen the toe pouch, cams for engaging saidbutts and for displacing the instep needles to and from a loop-holdinglevel preparatory to and subsequent to knitting the heel pouch, andother pickers for operating on the heeling needles to narrow and widenthe heel pouch.

4. In a circular knitting machine adapted to knit a hose mainly byrotation but with toe and heel pockets knitted by reciprocation, andhaving a needle cylinder and a circular complement of needles therein,the number whereof and diameter of the circle being that for theproduction of a single hose in substantially tubular form and saidneedles comprising instep needles and heel needles disposed over opposedportions of the circle, the combination of two diametrically opposedsets of knitting cams each for knitting one of the pockets and eachcomprising two withdrawable and opposed stitch cams for knitting ineither direction during reciprocation, a cam race for conducting theneedles past each set of knitting cams in turn during rotation, at leastone yarn feeder for each set of cams, means for temporarily divertingthe heel needles to a loop-retaining position while knitting the toepocket on instep needles in one set of knitting cams, means fortemporarily diverting' the instep needles -to a loop-retaining positionwhile knitting the heel pocket on the heel needles in the other set ofknitting cams, and, adjacent to each set of knitting cams, narrowing thewidening pickers for making the pockets.

5. In a combination according to claim 4, fashioning needles midway inthe heel needles for producing a gap of varying width up the back of theleg, and means for diverting said fashioning needles between inactiveand, active positions infashioning.

6. In a combination according to claim 3, a group of fashioning needles,midway in the heeling needles and dividing them into two groups, forproducing a gap along the foot bottom and through the heel pouch and anupwardly convergent gap in the back of the leg whereby said leg isfashioned, means for controlling said fashioning needles to vary thewidth of said gap in fashioning, and means for holding said fashioningneedles inactive during the production of the heel pouch and footbottom.

"I. In a circular knitting machine adapted to knit a hose mainly byrotation but with toe and heel pockets knitted by reciprocation, andhaving a needle cylinder and a circular complement of needles therein,the number whereof and diameter of the circle being that for theproduction of a single hose in substantially tubular form and saidneedles comprising instep needles and heel needles disposed over opposedportions of the circle, and fashioning needles, centrally disposed inthe heel needles, for fashioning the hose, the combination of twodiametrically opposed sets of knitting cams, one for knitting the toepocket and the other for knitting the heel pocket, each of which setscomprises two opposed stitch cams for knitting in either directionduring reciprocation, a cam race for conducting all active needlesthrough each set of knitting cams in turn during rotation, at least oneyam feeder for each set of cams, means for diverting the fashioningneedle from said race to an inactive level prior to knitting the toe andfor retaining them there until required for fashioning, means fortemporarily diverting the heel needles to a loop-retaining level whileknitting the toe pocket on instep needles in one set of cams, means fortemporarily diverting the instep needles to a loopretaining positionwhile knitting the heel pocket, with a central gap left by thefashioningneedles, on the other set of cams, narrowing and wideningmeans for making the pockets, and fashioning means for graduallybringing the fashioning needles from the inactive level into said raceto narrow the gap up the leg.

8. In a circular knitting machine of the kind organised to knit a hosemainly by rotation but to knit toe and heel pockets by reciprocation,and having a circular needle bed, the combination of a group of toeneedles. and a group of heel needles occupying substantially opposedlocations in the needle circle, two opposed groups of intermediateneedles, between said groups, two opposed knitting systems for knittingtwo courses at each revolution in the foot and leg on the needles ofsaid four groups but one system for knitting the toe pocket byreciprocation on the toe needles and the other for knitting the heelpocket by reciprocation on the heel needles, means for temporarilyvdisplacing to a loop-retaining level, preparatory to knitting eachpocket, the needles for the other pocket and said intermediate needles,means for re-introducing said needles upon completion of the pocket, andnarrowing and widening means a for operating on the toe needles and heelneedles in the production of the respective pockets.

9. In a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder and acircular complement of needles therein, the number whereof and thediameter of the circle being that for the production of a single hoseblank from the toe upwards in substantially tubular form and saidneedles comprising a group of fashioning needles, a group of heelneedles at each side of it, and a group of instep needles opposite saidfashioning and heelneedles, which machine is organised to knit the legand foot of the blank by rotation and the heel and toe pockets byreciprocation, the combination of two opposed sets of knitting .camseach for knitting by rotation on all active needles and one for knittingthe toe pocket on the instep needles by reciprocationand the other forknitting the heel pocket on the heel needles by reciprocation, at leastone yarn feeder, for each set of cams, an inactive track for thefashio'ning needles, means for diverting them to it preparatory toknitting the toe pocket, means for knitting at least one course ofrotational knitting on the instep and heel needles, means for divertingthe heel needles to a loop-holding level while knitting the toe pocketby reciprocation on the instep needles at one of the sets of knitting.cams, narrowing and widening means for operating on the instep needlesto shape said pocket, means for restoring the loop-holding heel needlesinto activity upon completion of the toe pocket, means for introducing asplicing thread to the heel needles, during rotational knitting of thefoot and a part immediately above the heel pouch, in the productionof aspliced area at each side of the gap left by the inactive fashioningneedles, means for diverting the instep needles to a loopretainin levelduring the production of theheel pouch by reciprocation on the heelneedles in the other set of cams, narrowing and widening means foroperating on the heel needles to shape the heel pocket, means forrestoring the loop-holding instep needles to activity upon completion ofthe heel pocket, and fashioning means for gradually displacing theinstep needles to and from a loopmoving the fashioning needles from theinactive track into activity to narrow the gap while rotatlonal knittingproceeds up the leg on instep and heel needles at both sets of knittingcams.

10. In a combination according to claim 3, a needle racefor leading allactive needles through both knitting systems during active knitting,which race affords, at least one of the systems,

splicing and non-splicing passages, fashioning needles located centrallyof the heel needles, an inactive race for said fashioning needles, meansfor diverting them from one race to the other while knitting proceeds upthe leg. to produce an upwardly convergent gap in the fabric at the backof the leg, a splicing thread feeder at said system having thenon-splicingpassage, and means for diverting a varying number of needlesat each side of the fashioning needles through the. splicing passagewhile the foot is being knitted.

to knit heel and toe-pockets thereon by recipro-.

cation, and having a circular needle bed and a circular complement ofneedles therein, the combination of two knitting systems, one at eachoftwo different locations in the circumference of the machine; means forknitting a toe pocket by reciprocation ona group of the needles in oneof the systems; and means for knitting a heel pocket by reciprocation,on a group of the needles disposed inthe opposite part of the needle bedto the first said group, in the other system.

13. In a circular knitting machine of the type organized to knit hosemainly by rotation but to knit heel and toe pockets thereon byreciprocation and having a circular needle bed, the combination of aknitting system for knitting the toe pouch; a second knitting systemdiametrically'opposite the first for knitting the heel pouch;

instep needles and heeling needles disposed over from a loop-holdingposition preparatory to and subsequent to knitting the toe pouch and forholding position preparatory to and subsequent to knitting the heelpouch; and narrowing and widening means for operating on the instepneedles to narrow and widen the toe pouch and on the heeling needles tonarrow and widen the heel pouch.

14. In a machine according to claim 13, fashioning needles disposedmidway among the heeling needles; means for retaining said fashioningneedles inactive during the knitting of the foot and heel pouch; andmeans for progressively moving them between active and inactivepositions during knitting of the leg and for thereby fashioning the leg.

15. In a circular knitting machine for producing hose by knitting theleg and foot by rotation and heel and toe pockets by reciprocation, and'having a needle cylinder and a circular complement of needles therein,the number whereof and diameter of the circle being that for theproduction of a single hose in substantially tubular form and saidneedles comprising instep needles and heel needles disposed oversubstantially diametrically opposed portions of the circle, thecombination of two substantially diametrically opposed sets of knittingcams each for knitting one of the pockets and each comprising twowithdrawable and opposed stitch cams for knitting in either directionduring reciprocation; a cam race for conducting the needles past eachset of knitting cams in turn during rotation; at least one yarn feederfor each set of cams; means for temporarily diverting the heel needlesto a loop-retaining position while knitting the toe pocket on instepneedles in one set of knittingcams; means for temporarily diverting theinstep needles to a loopretaining position while knitting the heelpocket on the heel needles in the other set of knitting cams; andnarrowing and widening means for each set of knitting cams for makingthe pockets.

16. In a combination according to claim 15, a group of fashioningneedles, midway in the heel needles, for producing a gap along the footbottom and through the heel pouch and an upwardly converging gap up theback of the leg; a low inactive race for said fashioning needles; buttson the needles for traversing the cam race and inactive race; a buttpassage leading from the inactive race to the active race; fashioningjacks under the fashioning needles; butts on the jacks; fashioningmechanism operable on the jack butts' for progressively moving the buttsof the fashioning needles at the edges of the group thereof through thegap from the inactive to the active race; and means for moving saidneedle butts in the reverse direction.

17. In a circular knitting machine of the type organized to knit a hosemainly by rotation, from the toe upwards, with toe and heel pocketsknitted by reciprocation, the combination of a needle cylinder and acircular series of needles therein, the diameter of the needle cylinderand the number of needles being that for the production ofa single hosein substantially tubular form, which needles comprise a group of instepneedles, a group of fashioning needles opposite the instep needles, anda group of heeling needles at each edge of the group of fashioningneedles; butts on said needles; two substantially diametrically opposedsets of knitting cams each for knitting one only of the pockets and eachcomprising cam means for knitting in either direction duringreciprocation and in one direction during rotation; an active cam racefor conducting the needle butts through each set of knitting cams duringrotation whereby two courses are knitted at each revolution; at leastone main yarn feeder for each set of cams; a low inactive race for theneedle butts; means for diverting the butts of the fashioning needles tothe inactive race and for diverting the heeling needles to aloop-holding level prior to knitting the toe by reciprocation at one setof knitting cams; narrowing and widening means for operating ontheinstep needles to narrow and widen the toe; means for restoring theheeling needles to the active race upon completlon of the toe; means fordiverting the instep needles to a loop-holding level prior to knittingthe heel by reciprocation at the other set of knitting cams; means forrestoring the instep needles to the active race at the completion of theheel; and fashioning means for progressively moving the butts of thefashioning needles at the edges of the group thereof from the inactiveto the active track as knitting proceeds up the leg.

18. In a machine according to claim 4 wherein that stitch cam of eachset of knitting cams whereat the needles first arrive in rotationalknitting is also a clearing cam and the aforesaid yarn feeder is aground yarn feeder, splicing mechanism for causing the heel needles toknit a spliced area along the foot bottom, comprising a splicing yarnfeeder to each set of knitting cams for feeding a splicing thread in apath different from that of the ground thread; jacks below the heelneedles; butts on said jacks; a withdrawable jack clearing cam beloweach said clearing cam, for operating on the jack butts and for raisingthe associated needles, when said clearing cam is withdrawn, to takeboth the splicing thread and the ground thread; and means adjacent toeach set of knitting cams for. causing the needles, that are not raisedby the jack clearing cam, to clear and for guiding them in a path totake the ground thread only and to knit at the other stitch cam of theset.

19 In a machine according to claim 4 wherein that stitch cam of each setof knitting cams whereat the needles first arrive in rotational knittingis also a clearing cam and the aforesaid yarn feeder is a ground yarnfeeder, splicing mechanism for causing the heel needles to knit aspliced area along the foot bottom, comprising a splicing yarn feederfor each set of knitting cams, for feeding a splicing thread in a pathdifferent from that of the ground thread; jacks below the heel needles;butts on said jacks; a withdrawable jack clearing cam below each saidclearing cam, for operating on the jack butts and for raising theassociated needles, when said clearing cam is withdrawn, to take boththe splicing thread and the ground thread; a lower inactive track forsaid Jack butts; an upper active track therefor leading to the jackclearing cams; and selective means for transferring the jack butts fromthe inactive to the active track thereby to vary the spliced area.

20. In a circular knitting machine of the type organized to knit anarticle of footwear having a leg and foot knitted by rotation, and heeland toe pockets, the combination of two knitting systems at differentlocations in the circumference of the machine for knitting two coursesat each revolution; at least one yarn feeder for each systern; footbottom and heel-pocket producing needles and instep and toe-pocketproducing needles; means for manipulating the first said needles toproduce at one system a heel pocket with sutures; means for manipulatingthe second said needles to produce at the other system a toe pocket withsutures; and means for manipulating all said needles to knit at bothsystems during rotation of the machine in the production of a leg andfoot.

WILLIAM EDWARD BOOTON.

